’til the corn runs out’

By CHRISTIAN SCHMIDT

The Natchez Democrat

VIDALIA, La. &045; Cars pull up and a host of high school girls go into action, running out to get the orders, coming back to pick up the heavy bags and load them into the waiting vehicles before the next group of cars pull up.

Chelsie McElwee, Bridget Waller, Crystal Cage, Shauna Higdon and Callie Parker, the five young ladies working at Riverview Farm’s roadside stand on Highway 84, didn’t get much time to rest Friday. Those cars were pulling up to some corn on the first day of sales, and business was brisk.

&uot;We’ve been pretty busy since 8 this morning,&uot; Phyllis Parker, who owns Riverview Farms with husband Cecil, said. &uot;It’s been kind of wild, but not as wild as last year on our first day.&uot;

Parker said the stand had sold about 300 bags between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Friday, the first day of the annual sale. With each bag containing approximately 60 ears, the stand sold about 18,000 ears.

Wednesday was to be the first day of sales, but the corn wasn’t quite ready, Parker said. The stand will be open until all Riverview’s corn has been sold.

&uot;We’ll be here ’til the corn runs out,&uot; Parker said. &uot;We have about 30 acres, so it’ll take a while. I hope we’ll be out here for about two weeks, but it just depends how much corn we have.&uot;

The corn is four ears for $1 or $15 for a bag of about 60 ears, though the ladies at the stand will give you any number of ears in between those amounts you want. The stand also sells watermelons for $8 each.

Judging by the stream of cars pouring into the stand, local people like their corn. Riverview started accepting orders more than a month ago for corn.

&uot;I love corn. You can just put it in the freezer and microwave it anytime you want,&uot; Natchez resident Billy Simmons said. &uot;I give the shucks to my horses. I have a lot of friends to give a dozen here or there to.&uot;

Simmons got three bags of corn, or about 200 ears.